


Genesis Chronicles

by Fides



Series: Watcherverse: Origin [1]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Highlander: The Series
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-10-24
Updated: 2005-10-24
Packaged: 2017-10-09 06:59:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/84292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fides/pseuds/Fides
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ethan and Giles are trying to work things out but Ethan still has Methos' memories to deal with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Genesis Chronicles

**Author's Note:**

> It grew out of the scene where Methos twits Duncan about being chivalrous because it was trendy when Duncan was young. It just made me wonder how many unconscious hangovers Methos might have from his childhood.

"There was once a village. It didn't have a 'where' because it just was. In many thousands of years the place where the village had once been might become a part of Europe but, while it existed, it was just a village that nestled in 'The Valley' at the foot of 'The Big Hill'. The villagers were hard working and devout so that while they had little wealth or excess they also suffered few lean years. There were those who stayed in the village and took care of the few animals that the villagers kept, tended and gathered the fruits and plants in the area and took care of the village and the children. They were 'those-who-stay'. Then there were those who went out from the village. They were gone for days, weeks or months at a time trading with other villages, hunting game and defending The Valley and The Big Hill and the lands around. They were 'those-who-journey'.

"As the Gods decreed one of 'those-who-stay' would take one of 'those-who-journey' for a mate. If, after a year and a day, the Gods still looked favourably on the union then the two would be considered wed, for the villagers bowed to the will of the Gods. So it was that there would be balance within each family as there was balance within the village. And if, sometimes, two of those those-who-journey came together through loneliness and companionship on the long road – well it was never mentioned And if two of those-who-stay sought comfort together against the fear that this would be the time when their mates did not return – it was never spoken of openly. And if it was not spoken of it did not happen.

"The people of the village had noticed that some people grew differently than others; their bodies looked and felt different and had different parts. Not being stupid they noticed that, as with the animals they kept, when people of the different types came together and performed certain acts then often a child would result. They also noticed that when they performed other acts or when people of the same type came together then a child would probably never result. There was still a little confusion about the latter due to a few otherwise apparently inexplicable pregnancies.

"Still the world was a young and dangerous place. It was not unknown for a child to lose one or both of its parents while they were still in need of care or for a family to have too many children to support. When this happened the village elders were petitioned. They would hold a meeting in which all those families that wished for children could speak. The elders would consult amongst themselves and with the Gods and the child would be given to a family that was otherwise barren to raise as their own. Thus was balance maintained and the child provided for by the village so that it could grow strong and support the village.

"So it was that one day a party of those-who-journeyed returned to the village with the fresh and smoked cuts of the month's hunt, a collection of miscellanies that they had traded for and a young boy. Of the boy's dead family nothing was ever said, everything of possible worth had been stripped from the corpses and that had included the toddler. It had been debated whether he should be left to fend for himself if he could, killed or brought back to the village. The party of those-who-journeyed had decided that it was not for them to make such a decision so, even though the boy was an outsider, he was brought back and presented to the council and the elders. The deliberations went on as the sun died in fire upon the distant mountaintops and was born again. Finally the Gods spoke through the elders and the child was given into the care of a young couple who could not have children of their own.

"As the seasons changed the boy grew strong and tall. He loved listening to the stories told by the elders and was a great favourite of the wise-ones for his interest and intelligence. In the third summer after he came to the village his father-who-journeyed was badly hurt and, although the Gods did not call his soul back to them, he was no longer able to go out from the village as he once had. The next two harvests were bad ones and the council was forced to ration what food the village had during the winter that followed. Many died in the cold-time that followed including the boy's father-who-could-not-journey.

"The seasons continued to turn and the boy continued to grow. When the third emission of seed in the night signaled it was time for the boy to become a man he climbed high up The Big Hill behind The Hill where few dared go. In the light of the dawn he cut samples of an unknown plant with an unworked blade so that its potency might not be lost. He presented the herbs to the One Who Knew. Before the elders of the village the One Who Knew declared that the plant had healing qualities; since it grew close to the sky it brought the air that it grew in to those who had trouble breathing.

"The boy was declared a man in the eyes of the village and the Gods. He was given to the One Who Knew to learn from him and became one-who-stayed. Since he was the youngest apprentice to the One Who Knew it became his duty to ease the suffering of those the Gods had decided to call to them. Thus he was known to the village as Merciful Death and under the light of the ripe moon his adult name was declared to the heavens so that the moon could carry his name to the world. And, as was the way of such things, the elders gave him the knowledge of his true name by the light of no moon so that it would remain secret.

"The years passed and Merciful Death learned to read the signs of sickness. He learned which herbs would heal and which would harm, the chants to make a child sleepy and the chants to give energy. And he learned when a swift death was the only kindness that could be given to a patient and the many ways through which to bring about that end. In his tenth year since he came to the village he broke the neck of a young child. Her stomach had died and was putrefying inside her and yet the rest of her body lived on in pain. One Who Knew had seen the signs before and knowing that there was nothing to do but allow her body to join her internal organs in the arms of the Gods.

"Merciful Death calmed her with the words and songs he had been taught and he shut her dead eyes so that her body would not be forced to watch the life that she was no longer part of. She was the first person to die by his hand..."

Ethan hit stop on the tape recorder, hating the confirming crack that the button made as it was pressed. He wasn't so sure that this was a good idea no matter what Ripper had argued. He could still feel the jolt under his hands as the small spine snapped and the weight of the small head as it lolled against him. And he could also feel the nausea rising as his own internal organs objected to having to think about such things. He made it to the bathroom before his revulsion coated his throat in acid and the toilet bowl in vomit.

Flushing the loo mechanically, Ethan rinsed his mouth out before pouring himself a glass of milk. He hated to admit it but maybe Ripper had been right – he needed to talk about the memories he had got from Yama or he would loose himself or his sanity. The only problem was that he couldn't talk about them with anyone but Yama and Yama wasn't around. Oh, if Ethan told him what was happening then Yama would probably be at his side in a minute but that wasn't how either of them worked. Yama hated obligations and Ethan hated being obligated. It worked for both of them.

It was Ripper and his bloody Watcher paperwork that had finally given him the solution – a dictaphone. When Ethan was done he could destroy the tapes and send the digitized version of the recordings to Yama. It was up to the old bastard whether he wanted to listen or not. Ethan sighed and converted the milk into a White Russian.

Enough for one day, Ethan decided. He had a book of Chaos rituals to revise, a paper to review for New Mage and a Watcher to molest as soon as he got home. All of which could prevent him thinking that the worst was yet to come.


End file.
